Known as "Mr. Five Percent" and "The Hammer," Yasuo Hamanaka was able to sway world copper markets with his decisions to buy or sell. But none of his coups was as surprising as the announcement that his decisions had also lost his company, Sumitomo Corp., at least $1.8 billion over the last 10 years.

In another global trading scandal, the huge Japanese trading firm Sumitomo Corp. announced Thursday it has discovered "significant unreported losses"--estimated at $1.8 billion--from 10 years of unauthorized trading by its former head of copper trading. The Sumitomo fiasco appeared to be the biggest case yet in a string of losses by rogue traders, exceeding in size two similar scandals that erupted last year at Japan's Daiwa Bank and Britain's Barings.

The roots of Sumitomo Corp., now embroiled in scandal over huge losses by a rogue copper trader, go back to the 17th century, when it was, ironically, a copper producer and refiner. The House of Sumitomo was founded by Masatomo Sumitomo, a warrior-turned-monk who gave up the monastic life to begin a medicine and bookstore business. Once established, he learned a European-perfected copper-refining technique.

Less than one-fifth of the way into their expected life spans, more than 15% of the gearboxes on Metro Blue Line cars have failed, forcing the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority to buy new parts and overhaul equipment, officials said Tuesday. Of 230 gearboxes, 38 have broken down much sooner than expected--some of them after only 48,000 miles of service. That is less than 5% of the 1-million-mile standard specified in MTA's contract with the car manufacturer, Sumitomo Corp.

Members of the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to urge a review of the agency's controversial offshore lease arrangement for 54 commuter rail cars. The commission recommended that any conclusions from the review be made public before another proposed lease transaction is authorized.

March 24, 1993 | CLAIRE SPIEGEL and DAVID WILLMAN, TIMES STAFF WRITERS

A business venture that Los Angeles transit officials launched with anonymous Japanese investors in the Cayman Islands came under fire Tuesday from local and federal officeholders. Transit officials contend that by selling and leasing back 54 commuter rail cars through an offshore company, they will generate a $3.4-million windfall for taxpayers.

March 23, 1993 | DAVID WILLMAN and CLAIRE SPIEGEL, TIMES STAFF WRITERS

The deal was supposed to yield a windfall for taxpayers. Hoping to make a $4-million profit, transit officials turned a purchase of 54 commuter rail cars into a venture stretching from Asia to the Cayman Islands. Before the trolleys began rolling, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission sold the cars to a group of anonymous Japanese investors and immediately leased them back.